7 hours Ago By [email protected] (Redacción)
The Cerdanyola neighborhood of Mataró experiences a tense calm after several days of riots and clashes with the police. The origin was the arrest of a foreign criminal while attempting to squat in an apartment. The disturbances highlighted the public order problem that Mataró faces, where 70% more squatting occurs than the average in Catalonia.
Images of the Altercations in the Cerdanyola Neighborhood | TV MataróMedia outlets and far-left organizations have contributed to whitewashing squatting under the pretext of the housing crisis in Catalonia. However, more and more people in Catalonia see squatting as a main source of crime.Days after the events in the Cerdanyola neighborhood, two squatters from Mataró committed a violent robbery in another town.
This shows that squatting is one of the main factors in the rise of insecurity affecting Catalonia. Therefore, ending squatting is the first step to reducing the impunity that fosters crime.Mataró Squatters Rob in VilafrancaThe Mossos d'Esquadra have arrested five people as alleged perpetrators of a violent robbery in a store in Vilafranca del Penedès.
The detainees are three women and two men, all with several prior records. The investigation indicates that three of them lived in Valls, and the other two in Mataró. The thieves lived in two squatted apartments in Valls and Mataró.
Last February, they broke into an establishment in Vilafranca del Penedès to steal various items. The two men blocked the doors so that the three women could escape with the stolen goods.Two employees ran after them but were assaulted and sprayed with pepper spray.
The police investigation led to the thieves, who turned out to be three sisters aged between 19 and 29. The police also arrested their accomplices, two men aged between 25 and 41 who have accumulated a dozen arrests.Catalonia Has a Serious ProblemThe thieves had previously acted in Sabadell and Vilafranca.
This highlights the problem of squatting and repeat offenses in Catalonia. It also underscores the danger of certain narratives that use the housing crisis to justify crime.Two of the detainees lived in a squatted apartment in Mataró, although it is not confirmed to be in the neighborhood of last week's disturbances.
In any case, it shows that Mataró, like other Catalan cities, has a serious problem with squatting and insecurity. The housing problem can't be used as a pretext to continue encouraging squatting, which generates more crime..
